Franz Josef glacier

I was very much looking forward to doing a full day hike on the Franz Josef glacier, but while on the bus there I get the news: because of global warming or the such, the glacier has melted too much and now considered a too unstable geological feature. All full day and half day hikes and ice climbing have been cancelled. Fox glacier, on the other hand is all systems go.

We came across a temporary road block on the way.

At which point I basically went "rats, shouldn't have listened to all those people convincing me to go to Franz, should've went with my original plans to Fox". But what's done is done and I already booked my hostel.

I arrived afternoon at a very small Alpine town and immediately went asking about glacier tours. I figure, I can take a shuttle to Fox glacier from Franz Josef. But what? because of the sudden cancellation, large tour companies moved all their client's booking to Fox glacier so that when I tried to book anything like ice climbing and full day hikes it was all booked solid for tomorrow, after tomorrow and after after tomorrow.

So I decided to go with the flow and take a heli-hike. For one thing, I have seen a side by side photograph of Franz Josef now and 10 years ago and boy! Did that ice sucker shrunk! So I thought it was worth seeing Franz Josef while it didn't completely go away and taking a heli-hike will make it just a bit extra special seeing as I never been up on a chopper before. If I really like the glacier hiking part, perhaps I could stop by Fox glacier later on if I so choose.

I think at the end of the day, I definitely made the right decision. The guide (who was actually from Holland, but with the kiwi laid back attitude) was fantastic! Hiking was tonnes of fun, especially where we had to squeeze through an ice ridge.

Blue ice is gorgeous. The best part for me was the helicopter ride, though.
Planes have nothing on helicopters. Just going straight up was amazing! I recommend going up in the craft at least once in your life. Flying is just an amazing experience no matter how you look at it.

My ride's here!

Since the heli-hike was in the morning, I had enough time afternoon to hike the surrounding rainforest and in the evening I went to the Glacier hot pools. they had 3 pools heated to different degrees, I choose the coolest one being at 36C (I can't take being in much heat), and that was just perfect. A perfect end to a perfect day.

So there you have it - I walked on that glacier, I drank glacier waters (before, you know, it gets bottled), and I swam in its waters.

And oh! The day I arrived at Franz Josef, one of the French guys that I played Articulate at Greymouth with, ended up being my roommate! So in that evening, me him and our Japanese roommate all went for a late night hike to see glow worms in the forest. Well worth it! Was pretty magical. Of course, I ended up being the only one with a flash light (thanks to my father), otherwise it would be impossible to walk as it was total darkness there - as in if you extend your arm in front of you, you wouldn't see it. But the small pinpricks of blueish light were quiet magical.

Leaving Greymouth

 Despite really bad allergies, I actually had a really good time in Greymouth.
2 things made it so - amazing sunsets and the people I stayed with.
Those people were pure gold. Thanks guys!

Photos taken by Nynke.

Charleston's glow worm caves and Punakaiki rocks

While staying in Greymouth I took a day trip to Charleston to do some black water rafting.
My day started pretty early, as apart from the caves I wanted to take a hike as well. Charleston is a well worth it stop for a hike if you have the time. I took 2 paths - the first one goes through a really old cemetery and involves going through wild bushes and climbing a cliff. The other path is a 15 minuted looped path which is less wild and far more convenient to walk. both walks give you a spectacular view to the ocean.

As for my glow worm experience. Let me tell you, so far it has been my favourite part of the trip. The Underworld Adventure takes you on a train ride through the now familiar to me rainforest, where you change into a wet suit and pick up your tube. You haul the damn thing through what feels like a million stairs and when you are all good and sweaty and out of breath finally you can enter the cave.

The cave was very user friendly. It was pretty big and walking was very easy - there were no spaces where you had to crouch or crawl through. The cave was just beautiful - it had so many different formations.
Check this one out, doesn't it look like a face?

I actually forgot that I came here to see glow worms until the guide told to turn off the lights and there they were - on the wall, close enough to touch!
The rafting part involves paddling slowly in complete darkness and looking up at the glow worm colonies. This has been definitely one of the most magical things I have seen in my life. It's like... I am not sure what to compare it to even, if you've seen Avatar then the caves look something that came from there!
The trip finishes by floating down the stream, which was fun.

After that, since there was no bus to take me back to Greymouth I had to hitchhike. One of the workers from the Underworld Adventures drove me as far as the pancake rocks.

Originally, I didn't really care if I'll see them or not. But let me tell you, it is well worth stopping for the rocks. It's not the fact that they look stacked which is the cool part, but the blow-hole part is what is going to blow you away. Somehow the entire area channels the waves/tide in an explosive way so there is water spray several meters high. The waves just smash into the blow holes and the pools and the rock sides with this awesome force.
It was far more interesting than I thought it would be.

Greymouth: First impressions and staying there a while

Greymouth is a small town as small towns go, a village really.

The hostel where I stay for a while is called Noah's Ark. Located about 2 minutes from the town's centre and about 2 minutes away from the King Park walkway, it's an ideal location.
Though the animal decor in the rooms is not the height of sophistication, it is a charming place to stay, clean, and has it's perks.

So what does one do in a small town when one is so stay here a while?
Luckily, I have stayed with some pretty cool people so I had a good time in what otherwise is a real sleepy town.

First of all - the hostel. In the backyard there are hammocks. I've been blessed to have good sunny weather the majority of the time I stayed here. Afternoon naps under the warm sun are pleasant, but they also make you feel like you moved into semi-retirement.

Next I went fishing. There is a nice elevated platform that juts out to the ocean from where you can fish, and from where we also watched some amazing sunsets and even spotted a seal! When it is windy the waves crash in a pretty dramatic way and make for a really cool sunset experience.

There were bike paths.

There were also BBQs and Marshmallow parties in the backyard.

The evenings were spent playing Scrabble, Articulate and pictionary with mostly German guests.

Overall yeah, I am glad I stayed here a while.